A “Win” at NaNoWriMo

First of all, a “win” at NaNoWriMo means only that a writer has managed to get through the minefield that is life. That means that a person managed to write amidst piles of laundry and other household chores. It means that they have been able to say no to nights out with friends, social media and coherent conversation with their loved ones. Late nights, early mornings and too much coffee are all part of the struggle during November.

Winning means beating all those things that pull against the dream of writing.

Well, I’ve done it. I made it through all those things and validated the words to my novel over the weekend. Therefore I’ve “won” according to the NaNoWriMo website.

I always have a bit of anxiety before November begins as to whether or not I will be able to achieve this goal. I think that simply may be part of my process.

As far as my novel, it isn’t complete. I’m only about 2/3’s of the way through so I’m still working on it. It’s exciting to see things unfold.

Using Jennifer Blanchard’s story structure planning method, I’ve been able to stay on track. The interesting thing is that, even with planning to this extent, my novel has still managed to surprise me.

My hope is that I will actually be finished with the first draft by the end of the month. I’m not sure if that can happen especially with the holiday coming up. It is still my goal.

As usual, I have learned quite a lot during this month of writing so many words. That, however, is another post. For now, I’m going to continue on to complete this first draft.

I’m sure there are many more lessons to be learned. There always are.